Phenotypic frailty in people living with HIV is not correlated with age or immunosenescence

Background: It has been hypothesized that HIV-1 infection prematurely “ages” individuals phenotypically and immunologically. We measured phenotypic frailty and immune “aging” markers on T-cells of people living with HIV on long term, suppressive anti-retroviral therapy (ART) to determine if there is an association between frailty and immunosenescence. Methods: Thirty-seven (37) community-dwelling people living with HIV were measured for frailty using a sensor-based frailty meter that quantifies weakness, slowness, rigidity, and exhaustion. An immunological profile of the patients’ CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-cell expression of cell surface proteins and cytokines was performed (n = 20). Results: Phenotypic frailty prevalence was 19% (7/37) and correlated weakly with the number of past medical events accrued by the patient (r = 0.34, p =.04). There was no correlation of frailty with age, sex, prior AIDS diagnosis or HIV-1 viral load, or IFN-γ expression by CD4⁺ or CD8⁺ T-cells. There were more immune competent (CD28⁺ CD57⁻) cells than exhausted/senescent (CD28⁻ CD57⁺) T cells. Conclusion: Frailty in people living with HIV on long term, suppressive ART did not correlate with aging or T cell markers of exhaustion or immunosenescence.